Many elderly people, disabled people, and people with arthritis can sometimes have difficulty in opening medicine bottles or containers. Many prescription medicines are packaged in childproof containers. Such childproof containers, while extremely successful in preventing the accidental opening by a child can be difficult to open. Individuals having limited dexterity in their hands and fingers also experience difficulty when attempting to open these closures.
Many devices have been developed to assist individuals in opening pill bottles or containers. Several of these devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,702,652; 3,885,478; 3,913,424; 4,073,205; 4,084,723; 4,615,242; 4,702,129; 4,760,763; 4,770,069; 5,313,859; 5,388,297; 5,621,936; 5,704,258; 5,727,704; 5,735,181; 5,836,221; 6,205,888; 6,263,761; 6,393,947; 6,415,688; 6,651,531; 6,874,389; 7,028,359; and U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2008/0011127 and 2008/0072709, all of which are incorporated fully herein by reference.
Several of these devices are complicated to operate or are too large or bulky to fit in a pocket or purse for use when a person is traveling or away from home. Several of these devices are power operated devices that require batteries or a power outlet to operate.
In addition to the difficulties of many individuals to open pill bottles or containers, some individuals have impaired eyesight thereby making it difficult to read the description and/or instructions on the pill bottle or container.
In view of the current state of the art, there is a demand for a pill container opener that can easily and conveniently open pill bottles or containers, and can be easily and conveniently carried in the pocket and/or purse of an individual. There is also a demand for a pill container opener that can assist reading material on a pill bottle or container and/or identify the contents in a pill bottle or container.